Mid-American Conference Preview: Akron

Akron Zips 

2015 Results: 8-5 (5-3, T2nd in East)
Beat Utah State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl 

Returning Starters: 3 OFF, 4 DEF, 0 SP 

2016 Schedule:

September:

3rd VMI

10th at Wisconsin

17th at Marshall

24th APPALACHIAN STATE

October:

1st at Kent State

8th MIAMI (OH)

15th WESTERN MICHIGAN

22nd at Ball State

27th at Buffalo

November:

2nd TOLEDO

9th BOWLING GREEN

22nd at Ohio

Oooooooooh Akron. Look at you, you 8-5 studs. LeBron won a title, you won your bowl game, and the Browns have RG3 quarterbacking them. LIFE IN OHIO IS STROOOOOOONG! Head coach Terry Bowden is a gem for them to have at the helm. That last name Bowden probably ounds familiar because Terry is the son of football legend Bobby Bowden. Terry is the rebuild king and even has an undefeated season and possible national title to his name at Auburn. Terry is going to have to rebuild this team because they lost 15 of their 22 offensive and defensive starters, so the entire team will be a new experience.

Looking at last year's stats will not give you much of an estimate of this team's success because very few faces will be familiar. So we'll just take a look at what is coming back. They return a quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end. No linemen return, no running backs, a limited run game. It appears all we will address is the passing game, or what remains from it. Quarterback Thomas Woodson is their returning leader in rushing and passing. For them to have a shot at success this season, he's going to have to bring it and stay healthy.

Defensively, they had a pretty strong unit last year, boasting 83rd pass defense and the 3rd best rush defense (TOP 3!). That rush defense is unreal, but unfortunately they are losing a good chunk of their core. They return 157 tackles between the 4 returning starters. That's a lot to replace and I'm not so sure they'll be able to mange it. That ridiculous defense is all broken up now and DC Chuck Amato is going to have his hands full in developing his next batch of defenders.

Player to watch: Thomas Woodson

He's the quarterback and he's the key to Akron's success. If he is able to build upon his successful 2015 campaign, he may be able to help maintain the stream of success that Akron is coming to enjoy under Coach Bowden. There is the off chance that even if he does build upon that success, they will still struggle. There are so many moving pieces that it's impossible to predict. Woodson is the biggest hop that they have.

If you only watch them once, watch: 10/8 vs Miami (OH)

This is looking like a battle of two rebuilding teams and it will be interesting to see who is where on the rebuilding scale. This will be their best shot at a conference win and it will be extremely interesting to see who is able to make that first step. 

Prediction: 3-9 (1-7, MAC)

All my love, 

@corbeech